Tax Trifecta

Documents below:

Resolution 18-13:  Tax levy

Ordinance 04-13:  Tax credit rollback

Ordnance 05-13:  Income tax increase

 

“We screwed ourselves, pardon my French, but it’s time for plain speaking—with some expenditures—some loans that—some things that we did that put us in iffy financial positions…And I know that our citizens want to see us spend less if we’re going to ask them to contribute more.” –  April 19, 2010 – Jane Goodman, Ward 4 Councilperson.  

 

Please see Bottomless Pit and Deep Pockets to view video of the above quote.  

"South Euclid has lost millions of dollars on Cedar Center North"  Letter to the Editor, Plain Dealer

Please also see, The Old Switcheroo.


To view document below, RIGHT click on document, then LEFT click on 'OPEN LINK."

One Lie After Another

Document below:  Handout and agenda for South Euclid City Council Safety Committee Public Hearing; March 18, 2013.

A few observations about the handout (below) distributed to those in attendance at the March 18th meeting.

Mayor Welo accepts no responsibility for any part of the financial state of affairs in South Euclid.  The majority of the blame is placed on Governor Kasich with a few shots fired at county and federal levels as well.  Yet there is no mention of her refusal to make any reduction in administrative and non-collective bargaining salaries.  There is also no mention of the colossal amount of debt the taxpayers of South Euclid have been involuntarily saddled with for the next 30 years because of the Mayor’s decision to purchase Cedar Center and the Greenvale 9.  Despite the mayor’s claim in the taxpayer funded handout, “…wage freezes were implemented from 2009-2012…” – that was not the case.  During that time period, a number of $15,000 individual raises were awarded.  *Please see examples cited below. 

    

*Links below:  The information below is contrary to the Mayor's claims of, "...wage freezes were implemented from 2009 - 2012..."

• Hope You're Sitting Down For This One
• Let The Good Times Roll
• 2013 Budget Hearings
• Salaries Skyrocket Under Welo
• Administrative Salaries Must Be Cut

Video below:  Mayor Welo offers the following:

“…One of the reasons that police and fire are being effected is because now we’re cutting into the bone…”

“…There’s no more fat, we’re cutting into the bone, and that’s not good…"

Welo makes her 3rd reference to “cutting into the bone.”

 

• time:  13 min. 17 sec.

Video below:  In response to a citizen’s commentary regarding the city’s apparent lack of preparedness, Mayor Welo said,

 

“…We’ve made several cuts over the last 4 years…”

“…It was like all of a sudden you woke up and it was like a bad train coming down…”

Please also see previous SEO post, Welo's Expedient Rhetoric.

 

“…Like I said earlier, we’re cutting into the bone now…”
 

“…Our plan is working…”

 

 

 

• time: 9 min. 47 sec.

Video below:

• time: 14 min. 13 sec.

Video below:

• time: 17 min 59 sec.

Video below:

• time: 9 min. 46 sec.

To view documents below, please RIGHT click on document, then LEFT click on "OPEN LINK."

2013 Budget Hearings

Video below:  Finance Director, James Smith

It is revealed that it is necessary to make $660,000 in cuts from the 2013 South Euclid budget.  Councilman Ed Icove prompts the finance director into throwing Mayor Welo under the bus for her decision to make those cuts exclusively from the Police and Fire departments at a $350,000 reduction per department.  Quite an interesting display as Ed Icove usually has very little to say, but this is an election year for the 4 ward council seats.  Councilwoman Ruth Gray chimes in and introduces a short discussion on the administration’s recent promotion and hiring practices regarding several individuals outside of the safety forces. (Please see -Note 1- with additional video below) She chastises her colleagues about the lack of preplanning during the 2012 budget hearings:  “…There were some significant cuts that should have been made then.  Because we knew that we were losing these funds.  We knew that last year….we’re getting ready to layoff our safety forces.  We knew in 2012 that these cuts were coming.  They started in 2012 but yet we continued to hire.  We have to explain and justify that.  We continued to hire knowing that this was going to happen…”

• time:  10 min. 0 sec.

Note 1: A new position was created in 2012 in the building department which came with a $15,000 raise. To view documentation of that discovery please see,
Let The Good Times Roll.

There was also a promotion to Economic Development Director on October 22, 2012 that came with a substantial pay increase.  Please see video below.  According to the last salary ordinance which was passed in 2009, the position of Economic Development Director has a salary range from $54,666 to $74,666. 

• time: 0 min. 54 sec.

To view document below, please RIGHT CLICK on document then LEFT CLICK on "OPEN LINK."

 
















Video below:  Fire Cheif, Rick Huston

• time: 20 min. 40 sec.

Video below:  Police Cheif, Kevin Nietert

• time: 28 min. 04 sec.

 

 

 

Video below:  Building Commissioner, Paul Kowalczyk and

                       Housing Manager, Sally Martin

• time: 7 min. 5 sec.

Video below:

Councilman, Dennis Fiorelli: “There was one employee who looks like he had a 50% increase. Maybe I read it wrong…Looks like…$31,200 and the budget was $46,200…

Building Commissioner: "Yeah…she got…”

Councilwoman, Jane Goodman: "She’s at Barb’s rate?

Housing Manager: “She’s not at Barb’s rate.”

Building Commissioner: “She’s not at Barb’s rate.”

Housing Manager: “It’s budgeted for Barb's rate.  She's not at Barb's rate.  She doesn’t earn that much. It’ll come in under budget.”

Councilman, Dennis Fiorelli: “Well then $46,200 should really be $31,200?

Building Commissioner: "Yes.”

Councilman, Dennis Fiorelli: “So you gonna change the $15,000? I don’t know…”

Councilman, Ed Icove: “Fifteen here, fifteen there.”

Councilman, Dennis Fiorelli: “I mean a few minutes ago you said you came in under budget. So it’s a typo? A clerical error?”

Building Commissioner: “Musta been; yeah.”

Councilman, Dennis Fiorelli: “I do read it.”

• time: 1 min. 24 sec.

Video below:  Community Services Director,  Keith Benjamin and
                       Economic Development Director, Michael Love

• time:  21 min. 14 sec.